Davao City: The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA XI) assures the public that all their personnel are protected from the coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) despite the very nature of the agency’s work within the City of Davao.
The Assistant Regional Director for PDEA XI Attorney Ben Joseph Tesiorna discussed how important it is to ensure that health safety standards of the agency’s personnel are prioritized since they are working within and around COVID-19 high risk areas of the city.
“As much as possible we ensure that our staff avoid communities that are high risk areas but if we were not given any other choice we will proceed with our operations in the said areas…the national headquarters will be coming out with the protocol to ensure the safety of the operatives when conducting anti-illegal drug operations and we are just waiting for the cascading down for the said protocols,” Atty Tesiorna said.
PDEA XI has ensured the public that they are testing their personnel and detainees to constantly monitor for COVID-19 amongst their ranks since the nature of their job puts them at higher risk of contracting the said disease.
“PDEA XI remain COVID free including our detainees. We conducted a test last Monday and thankfully all have been tested negative,” Atty. Tesiorna said.
Despite the current circumstances imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, PDEA XI is still dedicated to drug clearing operations in communities within the Davao Region. In fact, from January to June, PDEA XI has already pinpointed 116 barangays in Davao City as affected by drugs while six (6) barangays have already been cleared in the city and three (3) barangays are currently undergoing clearing operations.
“We are still kicking down doors and we are expecting to focus on the barangay drug-clearing operations which is the pet project of our present Director General,” Atty. Tesiorna added. (PIA XI/KPLCaro)